Dwight Howard, rear, was all smiles during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 4, 2012. Kobe Bryant, left, Metta World Peace, Steve Blake and Pau Gasol are also enjoying prime views.

Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are trying to persuade Dwight Howard to stay with the franchise for five more years. Magic Johnson tweeted the same slogan the Lakers unveiled on billboards last week throughout Los Angeles: “Stay.” Steve Nash was also active Monday on Twitter before he boarded a plane from New York to Los Angeles, hammering out a quick, “Dwight Howard, we’re coming for you. You’re going to love the statue we build for you outside Staples in 20 yrs!” Howard has met in Los Angeles with Golden State and Atlanta, neither of which has much of a chance to get him.

The Warriors are too far over the salary cap to sign Howard as a free agent and can obtain him only via a sign-and-trade, which won’t happen because (a) the Lakers probably will have to take back Warriors players whose contracts extend beyond this season, denting the massive amount of salary-cap space they can spend next year and (b) such a trade saps the Warriors of valuable players who would be sent to the Lakers, likely making Golden State less desirable in Howard’s eyes.